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Sparta Rotterdam logo
Eredivisie | Gameweek 2
Aug 21, 2021 at 7pm UK
Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel
Heracles Almelo

Sparta
1 - 1
Heracles

Vriends (39')
van Crooij (52')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Burgzorg (76')
Vloet (21'), Fadiga (90+4')

Preview: Sparta Rotterdam vs. Heracles - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Eredivisie clash between Sparta Rotterdam and Heracles, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Two of last season's top 10 go head-to-head as Sparta Rotterdam and Heracles face off in round two of the new Eredivisie campaign at the Het Kasteel on Saturday.

The teams will look to bounce back and kickstart their 2021-22 journey after they were both defeated in their respective opening-day encounters last time out.


Match preview

Henk Fraser, now in charge of Sparta Rotterdam, pictured in 2017© Reuters

Sparta Rotterdam were annihilated in their season opener versus Utrecht at the Stadion Galgenwaard on Sunday, when they suffered a 4-0 loss.

Henk Fraser's men found themselves trailing in next to no time as Adam Maher opened the scoring inside two minutes, before second-half goals from Mark van der Maarel, Anastasios Douvikas and a late Simon Gustafsson penalty completed the rout.

Following that heavy defeat, De Kasteelheren find themselves in the bottom three as things stand, but there is no cause for concern yet.

Awaiting Saturday's hosts next is the visit of an opposing side who recent matches against leave little to choose between the teams.

In the last 14 meetings, there have been four wins apiece for either side with six stalemates, including both of last season's league meetings.

Heracles were no match for PSV Eindhoven as they suffered a 2-0 defeat when the sides met at the Erve Asito on Saturday.

Bruma and Noni Madueke were on target in either half as Frank Wormuth's men simply had no answer to what was thrown at them.

The Heraclieden failed to win any of their final four Eredivisie games away from home last term and will be keen to improve their fortunes on the road.

Saturday's visitors conceded 12 goals in those matches while scoring only two, so improvements have to be made on both ends of the field.

Sparta Rotterdam Eredivisie form:
  • L

Sparta Rotterdam form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • L

Heracles Eredivisie form:
  • L

Heracles form (all competitions):
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • L



Team News

Heracles' Janis Blaswich and Ismail Azzaoui are ruled out with muscle injuries and will play no part in Saturday's fixture.

Marco Rente is not expected to feature as he remains sidelined with a muscle injury which saw him sit out all of his side's pre-season games.

Twenty-year-old Elias Oubella also misses out through a knee injury, but the defender is not far off a return to action.

Emmanuel Emagha netted both goals for Sparta in the 2-1 friendly victory, and he will be looking to deliver the goods once again.

Sparta Rotterdam possible starting lineup:
Okoye; Pinto, Heylen, Vriends, Abels; Auassar, Harroui, Smeets; Engels, Van Crooy, Thy

Heracles possible starting lineup:
Bucker; Quagliata, Knoester, Schoofs, Fadiga; De La Torre, Kiomourtzoglou, Vloet; Laursen, Bakis, Basacikoglu


SM words green background

We say: Sparta Rotterdam 1-1 Heracles

The teams know a lot about each other having faced off numerous times over the years. While neither side will be too satisfied with a point, we are backing a share of the spoils in this one with both sides picking up their first point of the campaign.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sparta Rotterdam win with a probability of 55.43%. A draw had a probability of 23.7% and a win for Heracles had a probability of 20.92%.

The most likely scoreline for a Sparta Rotterdam win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.08%) and 2-1 (9.76%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.25%), while for a Heracles win it was 0-1 (6.48%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.3% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Sparta vs Heracles

Sparta Rotterdam
71.4%
Draw
14.3%
Heracles
14.3%
7
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6AZ AlkmaarAZ1582528161226
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10Fortuna SittardSittard155461721-419
11Heerenveen155371628-1218
12NECNijmegen155192119216
13PEC Zwolle164481525-1016
14Groningen154471424-1016
15Heracles153571628-1214
16Sparta RotterdamSparta152581323-1011
17RKC WaalwijkRKC Waalwijk1513111537-226
18Almere CityAlmere City151311734-276


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